The FINANCIAL -- Q. What kind of CSR activities did your company initiate this year?

A. We have been actively carrying out CSR activities for the last 5 years. We initially decided not to send out New Year gifts to our corporate clients and the amount we saved from that is instead being allocated to support vulnerable families and the homeless. For the last 4 years, we have been donating apartments to such families at New Year. I think that the contributions of customers have been significant in this, as everything is being done on their behalf.

We also donated to the victims of the tragedy of 13 June. We gave financial support to the family of a deceased firefighter. Another example of our CSR involvement is that we are taking care of a boy wrestler from an ethnic minority who has thus far been unable to go to a tournament. We will be sponsoring him until he reaches 18, and sincerely hope that he will be able to win a medal for Georgia through his efforts.

Q. How is Aldagi involved in state projects?

A. As a leading company we believe we are playing a big role in the development of the insurance sector through our involvement in state social projects. In 2014 we established Agro Insurance together with the state which has been actively and well implemented for the last 3 years.

Agricultural insurance is very important for the development of the economic condition of the rural population and for strengthening and facilitating their access to financial resources. It is a crucial means of managing risk for farmers. The state subsidizes 50-70% of insurance premiums and we sell agro-insurance throughout the whole of Georgia.

Q. Why is it important for your partners to collaborate with Aldagi?

A. First of all it is a form of stability. Aldagi is the market leader and one of the oldest insurance companies and private companies in Georgia. It was the first company to be founded in 1990 after the collapse of the Soviet Union and since then has been actively functioning for 28 years. Stability, quality of insurance, financial reliability and risk management are the main factors that distinguish Aldagi from its competitors on the market.

Q. How would you appraise the insurance market in Georgia?

A. I already mentioned that the history of private insurance in Georgia is 28 years old. By global standards though, insurance in Georgia is still immature, in the initial stages really, therefore there are many things that are yet to be done. We feel this responsibility of being the leading company that has been operating on the market since the start, and as the one that introduces new products. We believe that the Georgian insurance market has big potential.

Q. What are some of the challenges when rolling out insurance programmes?

A. The level of awareness of people; to provide information that insurance is, in fact, essential. We offer customers a simple and cheap insurance policy. Aldagi offers GEL 50 fire insurance for apartments and third party liability insurance for drivers, worth GEL 60 a year. This guarantees protection for people in the event of great expense caused by a sudden accident.Amongst the wider population though there is unfortunately a feeling that insurance is a waste of money. Insurance is generally a collective responsibility. Insurance companies unite within them a group of similar category products to ensure against problems.

A culture of having insurance is growing slowly in popularity. To this end, we are periodically introducing and providing information about insurance to the public. Our responsibility is to inform the population about the need for insurance - that insurance is one of the major risk management options.

Q. How is Aldagi involved in the urban development process of Tbilisi?

A. In terms of urban development, we are actively trying to not just concentrate on Tbilisi but also on different regions of Georgia. Two years ago, we issued a livestock insurance policy: whereby an owner pays just GEL 30-50 each month and in the event his livestock dies, he will be returned the money. As for Tbilisi, we are trying our best to open branches in the suburbs, and employ local people, in an effort to decentralise and not only focus on the central districts of Tbilisi.